Intellectual Assessment/ IQ/Giftedness
Evaluations are conducted in person at our Assessment Center in Palo Alto, CA or Pleasanton, CA, or via telehealth.
Intellectual Assessment/ IQ/Giftedness
If you suspect your child is gifted or see gifted characteristics in your child, there may be questions and concerns about how you identify if your child is gifted. Often, giftedness assessment is a requirement for admission to school programs from a young age.
What is Giftedness?
- “Intellectually Gifted” means a child whose intellectual abilities, creativity, and potential for achievement are so outstanding that the child's needs exceed general education programming.
- As a result, understanding if your child is intellectually gifted can support your child’s learning and education.
- Intellectual giftedness is determined by an “IQ score”.
- Intellectually gifted individuals learn quickly and easily and can reason critically but they may also become bored and frustrated or dislike repetition.
- Intellectually gifted individuals may exhibit verbal proficiency but they may also have challenges listening, and try to dominate discussion.
- Intellectually gifted individuals may have high energy but they may also need less sleep and become easily frustrated with inactivity or lack of challenges.
- Intellectually gifted individuals may have heightened curiosity but they may also take on too many activities.
- Intellectually gifted individuals may be extremely persistent but also may feel stifled by restrictions.
- Intellectually gifted individuals may exhibit different learning styles but also demonstrate frustration in the absence of progress or be prone to being overdriven.
- Intellectually gifted individuals may exhibit an emotional depth and intensity but they may also be unusually vulnerable and feel confused about their feelings and thoughts not being taken seriously.
What Are the Steps of an Intellectual/IQ/Giftedness Evaluation?
Step #1: Initial Interview
- Intellectual/IQ/Giftedness evaluations take a hybrid approach.
- There will be a 30-minute parent and child/teen interview via telehealth to understand the need for the assessment and to make sure that the requirements are understood.
Step #2: In-Person Assessment*
- You will then come in person for a 1-1.5 hour session. During this session, your child will be asked to do challenges and brain teasers that look at the areas of brain function that contribute to understanding intellectual functioning.
Step #3: Review and Feedback
- Once the assessment is complete, results are reviewed and a feedback session is provided by telehealth.
Step #4: Detailed Report
- You will receive a detailed report about your performance and abilities.
- *It is important to note that assessments can be done via telehealth fully but Merit Psychology Group, A Professional Psychology Corporation prides itself in being able to support in-person patient care quickly and efficiently.